QImaging® Launches New optiMOS™ Scientific CMOS Camera

QImaging has launched the new optiMOS Scientific CMOS (sCMOS) camera for fluorescence microscopy. An alternative to traditional CCD cameras, optiMOS captures fast cellular dynamic events across a larger field of view without compromising sensitivity.

Many cellular mechanisms occur on short time scales and emit very low luminescence signals when fluorescently labeled. To sufficiently document these interactions, the imaging device must provide adequate spatial and temporal resolution, while maintaining very high sensitivity. Researchers have long relied on CCD cameras for scientific imaging due to the quantitative performance, and sensitivity. However, these devices are severely challenged when attempting to increase temporal resolution while maintaining spatial resolution due to inherent limitations in CCD architecture.

Featuring faster frame rates and lower noise, optiMOS was designed as the budget friendly CCD alternative that combines speed with high resolution and increased sensitivity:
• Speed to resolve fast cellular events
• Sensitivity to resolve low luminescence signals due to short exposures
• Resolution to resolve small cell structures

“Capturing fast cellular dynamic events such as vesicle trafficking requires high speeds, a large field of view and low read noise – a combination of features that CCD cameras simply cannot deliver,” said Chris Ryan, product manager at QImaging. “optiMOS is the first product that delivers on sCMOS performance, yet is accessible within the constraints of typical fluorescence microscopy budgets.”

The optiMOS sCMOS camera offers the following features:
• 2.1 megapixels at 100 Frames Per Second (FPS) compared to 1.4 megapixel at 10 FPS for the typical CCD camera
• Achieves 45 percent larger field of view than standard 1.4 megapixel fluorescence CCD cameras
• <2e- of electronic noise enables high frame rates without compromising sensitivity
• Full 100 FPS streaming to disk without expensive complex RAID 0 configurations

optiMOS is suited for a broad range of fluorescence microscopy applications. The camera is ideal for cell biologists using live cell, multicolor fluorescence; biophysicists studying membrane dynamics and protein and lipid trafficking; as well as neuroscientists looking at ion transport such as electrophysiology, calcium imaging and ratiometric imaging.

Available for $9,950 USD, optiMOS can be seen in action at QImaging’s booth #2533 at the 2013 Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting taking place November 9-13 in San Diego, Calif.